1 WALKING in and around Annan The natural place to walk 3 Jubilee Suspension Bridge, Annan Jubilee Suspension Bridge, The Royal Burgh of Annan has a long colourful history, and these walks explore the history of the area as well as the rich countryside around the town. The walks take you along peaceful riverbanks, through woods and along the edge of the Solway Firth. The walks can be enjoyed throughout the year and offer a different perspective with the changing seasons – from the verdant green of spring, the summer wildflowers, the golden colours of autumn, and the clear crisp days of winter. The walks make the most of the informal access that exists in the area. Please observe the Country Code. THE WALKS Annan, Waterfoot and Summergate Lane .................................6 Barnkirk Point ..................................... 10 River Annan ......................................... 14 Hoddom Castle and Farm Walks ...... 20 Repentance Tower............................... 24 Saint Kentigern’s Churchyard ............ 26 Kelhead Water..................................... 28 4 Route information • A brief description, approximate distances and times are given for each route. • Paths are graded for people of reasonable mobility as easy, moderate, strenuous or very strenuous. • Accessibility by wheelchair is indicated on appropriate routes. • Please follow the guidelines given for dogs. • As with all walks, it is a good idea to take weatherproof clothing and stout footwear. The orange covered OS Explorer 1:25 000 map (No 332) covers this area in detail. Wick Inverness Aberdeen Edinburgh Glasgow Dumfries ANNAN Newcastle Carlisle Location Maps Manchester 01 A7 Lochmaben Lockerbie A709 A 7 4 (M ) Dumfries Hoddom A75 Brydekirk Kelhead Gretna ANNAN 0 h 1 t 7 A r i F y a w l o S 5 Enjoy the countryside and respect its life and work. • Keep dogs under close control at all times. • Respect farm livestock, crops and machinery. • Take your litter home with you. • Take care on country roads. • Guard against risk of fire. Take particular care on the shore – the Solway Firth can be deceptive, with fast tides, strong currents and deep hidden channels. 6 Circular town and shore walk 5km/3 miles Allow 11/2 -2 hours Pavements, tracks, boggy merse and grass track Moderate Boots or stout shoes recommended A walk exploring Annan’s maritime past and the Solway Firth – taking you from the centre of Annan to the wide-open spaces of the Solway Firth. START from the Town Hall at the western end of the High Street. The Town Hall is a fine Victorian building built in 1878 from local sandstone and it reflects the pride and prosperity of Annan. Turn right, and cross the High Street. The large Georgian building on the corner opposite the Town Hall was built in 1780 and is known as Bridge House. This was the first Annan Academy. The writer Thomas Carlyle was educated here and eventually taught at the Academy. There are plans to turn this elegant building into a community resource, housing a museum and an information centre. Proceed down the street to the left of Bridge House. This is Port Street, curving round to the right and passing the fine houses that belonged to wealthy traders in bygone days. Some of the windows were blocked up to avoid paying Window Tax imposed in 1701 and remain so 7 to this day! Continue along the street, passing under the railway bridge, then walk on past various old buildings until you reach the renovated Burgh Quay. This part of Annan was once a prosperous bustling area, with the warehouses of the local merchants full of timber, cement, and grain. Now the once busy warehouses stand empty. The ship building yards here once built fine ships which sailed all over the world, many with local names such as the “Annandale” and “Queensberry”. The largest and last clipper ship built was the 934 ton “Sarah Nicholson” which was launched in 1865. At the end of the 19th century, a fleet of fifty one shrimp trawlers, thirty whammel boats designed for salmon drift netting and thirteen herring boats worked out of Annan. These sturdy sailing boats fished the Solway from Annan to Maryport, Southerness and beyond. Annan harbour at low tide Annan harbour at low 8 Turning your back on the quay, walk up the lane beside the site of the shipyard and turn right. This road leads past the last houses and becomes a country lane, running across the tidal river meadows or “merse” towards the mouth of the River Annan at Waterfoot. The Burns cairn at Waterfoot The Burns cairn at The river estuary at Waterfoot now has little to show of its historical importance. In the 18th and 19th centuries, many people embarked from the jetty when emigrating to Canada, New Zealand and Australia. A cairn on the remains of the jetty commemorates Robert Burns, who worked in this area as an exciseman in the 1790s. Looking out across the sands of the Solway Firth, the stake and poke nets of the salmon fishermen are dwarfed by the scale of the landscape. In Stakenets on the Solway Stakenets the fishing season, you may see the haaf-net 9 fishermen standing chest deep in the fast flowing waters hoping to catch a trout or salmon. From Waterfoot, walk across the tidal salt marsh, the “Annan Merse”, eastwards, winding your way around the tidal streams and creeks. Aim for the back of the Merse near the fence, this way you should pick up a fairly well-worn path. Keep a sharp lookout for the white post at the gate to Summergate Lane, which joins the side of the Merse after about half a mile. This green lane takes you back to the outskirts of Annan. Soon after you reach the modern bungalows, take the lane on your left – called “Lovers Lane.” This narrow little lane is a riot of wildflowers in the summer – a different world to the wide horizons of the Solway Firth. Proceed straight down Lovers Lane passing a road to the left. When you reach the crossroads at the end of the lane, turn right and walk back into Annan along Elm Road. This takes you past the railway station and the present-day Annan Academy and back onto the High Street where you started. Annan High Street 10 Circular walk along riverside to estuary Option A - 7km/41/2miles, Option B - 8km/5miles Allow Option A - 1-2 hours, Option B - 21/2 hours Pavements, minor roads, paths and grass tracks Steps and Stiles in places Moderate Boots or stout shoes recommended A good walk for exploring the countryside around Annan and Newbie – along the River Annan and the Solway Firth. Look out for the seabirds and waders on the mud and sand – herons, oystercatchers, turnstones and lapwings can all be seen in season. START from the Town Hall, turn right along the High Street, leaving the centre of Annan. Cross the bridge over the River Annan and walk down the steps on the downstream side of the bridge. Follow the path along the flood bank past the Sustrans National Cycle Network bridge and under the arched sandstone railway bridge. View along River Annan along River View Annan harbour has been renovated - from this 11 side of the river you can see the once thriving Port Street, with its warehouses and merchants houses. The factory opposite is Youngs Bluecrest Sea Foods. Lower down, the quays are still used by local fishing boats. The path ANNAN Town follows the N Hall edge of the START tidal saltings towards Railway Newbie – Station the remains 0 1/4 mile of two quays Harbour on this bank of the river are further Cochran Boiler reminders Works NEWBIE R iv of Annan’s e r A n maritime n a Rhodia O n p past. ChiRex t io n A On reaching Op Waterfoot tion B Newbie, Site of pass the Old SOLWAY FIRTH Cochran Lighthouse Boiler Works entrance, leave the main road and keep straight on along the lane until you reach a stile on your left just before a locked road gate and kissing gate. Cochran & Co moved here in 1899 from Birkenhead where they built small ships and also submarines of a revolutionary design. After a few years at Newbie they discontinued shipbuilding and developed a wide range of boilers. The plant on the other side of the lane is the Rhodia ChiRex pharmaceutical plant. Climb over the stile and cross the field, remaining close to the boundary with Cochrans. You will soon see a second stile, which takes you to the riverbank. 12 Follow the river downstream, taking care as the banks are steep and the path narrow. This will lead you down to Barnkirk Point, where the River Annan meets the Solway Firth. The views from here are wonderful – especially to Criffel the Solway over View over the Solway and the sunsets over Criffel are breathtaking. However, it can be a bleak and windy place too. Robert Burns, when working near here as a excise officer in 1792, described it as “this wild place of the world”. From here, the path turns west to join a track, past the site of the historic inn and farmhouse of Waterfoot, now sadly demolished. At this stage, you have two options: - OPTION A - Follow the track and after about 200 metres turn right at its junction with a tarmac lane and follow this lane back to Newbie. OPTION B - Follow the track for about 200 metres. At its junction with a tarmac lane go straight on for about another 100 metres. Here, turn left up some steps to join the path to the top of Barnkirk Hill which overlooks the mouth of the River Annan.